While Microsoft has all but seemingly given up on providing Android developers a porting bridge to Windows 10 by shuttering its Project Astoria tools, the company seems poised to continue full steam head with courting iOS developers.
The Windows team announced today that the Windows Bridge for iOS (Author’s note: I still personally prefer Project Islandwood as a title) is receiving a healthy dose of updates, new features and new samples for developers to play around with.
This week, the Windows Bridge for iOS is gaining a number of new features—including improved support for several widely-used iOS layout APIs—and integrating with the official CoreFoundation framework. Additionally, we’re launching a new repo of open-source sample apps and example code designed to address common app scenarios and demonstrate integrating Universal Windows Platform (UWP) features into your app. To recap, the Windows Bridge for iOS is an open-source project that allows you to create UWP apps that can run on Windows 10 devices using iOS APIs and Objective-C code.”
The update to the iOS porting tools comes at a pivotal time in the on-going story that is Windows 10. With a just a little under two months until the release of the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, the Windows team appears set to round all of the rough edges that remain around Windows 10 and the app story, perhaps, remains the harshest. Getting developers to create, port, and transition apps to the Universal Windows Platform seem crucial for the Windows team as it continues to try and sell its App Store as a viable alternative to those on competing platforms.
The appearance of iOS ported apps are spotty at best right now, but with the additions brought in this update, developers might find a reason to try using the tools in more regular fashion. Visit Microsoft’s Building for Windows developer blog for more details and examples on its iOS porting tools.
